Be My Guest
by PurplePatchwork
Summary: Belgium tries to teach America a little about her country.


"Alfred, for the last time: that narcissist nonsense is NOT a world map."

"Sure it is Iggy!"

"All right, then tell me. Where on the map is Belgium?"

"Uh…"

America squinted his bright blue eyes, pushing up his gold-rimmed glasses to give the map a closer inspection.

"…It's somewhere in Europe right?"

"Ugh," England groaned.

The nations were currently in a conference room in Sweden for one of their many World Conferences. The final meeting had just come to an end, and the nations had agreed upon having the next meeting in Belgium. That is until America asked where Belgium was situated.

A look at the map he'd brought proved no good. America himself was made so big the other continents had to be squeezed together just to fit on the map, everything that wasn't the States had names like "The Commie Bastard", "Islands West of America" and "Kiku's Crib", and Canada was counted in as a part of America (the 51st state).

"Come on you idiot, focus," England lectured him, brows furrowed angrily. "You've been to Belgium before, haven't you. When they opened the first McDonald's there."

The sunny blond perked up at the mention of his favourite fast-food chain, but his face still read confusion. It was at that point that France came sashaying in, and draped an arm over the Englishman. He smelt strongly of roses and ripe grapes today. The other nations had left England and America to their own devices, but now France wanted some of the Brit's attention for himself.

"Angleterre, it is no use. Amérique is simply a bit dumb when it comes to geography."

The younger nation scowled at him and crossed his arms.

"Hey, I'm not dumb! It's not my fault you Europeans always have to hide your countries!"

England gritted his teeth, forest green eyes flashing.

"Alfred. You've been to Brussels right? The capital of the European Union, among others?"

At this America's eyes widened in recognition.

"Oh yeah! Brussels! So what, Belgium's the capital of Brussels or something?"

France sighed in exasperation. "No you fool, it's the other way arou-"

The Frenchman trailed off when someone at the other end of the room cleared her throat.

She had wavy locks that looked golden under the sun, but brown in any darker environment, which were held back by a red ribbon. She had vivid green almond shaped eyes and well-defined eyebrows. Her nicely formed figure was hidden behind a neat business attire and a loose necktie, brown boots clicking softly on the tiled floor. Her lips curled up in a light yet strained smile as her chin was supported by long and sturdy fingers. She smelt of freesia and chocolaty sweets.

Despite her usually nice and happy-go-lucky attitude, Belgium looked absolutely murderous at the moment. Her aura could match that of Russia's on a bad day, and the nations around her quickly scooted away.

"I'm sorry you guys, but I couldn't help but hear you were talking about my country. What was that you said again, Alfred dear?"

America, oblivious to the atmosphere as always, simply grinned.

"Ah, so you're the chick we're supposed to be visiting next time? Sorry dudette, can't say I know that much about ya."

England and France audibly gulped when Belgium got up and began walking over to them.

"And why is that Alfred?"

"Well Bel-"

"Emma. You can call me Emma."

"Okay then, Emma. I dunno, maybe you've just been hiding under a rock or somethin'? But I just don't know you."

Belgium was now standing right in front of him. Her posture was relaxed and open, but her eyes were still glowing dangerously.

"Oh, this certainly won't do. If what you say is true, then I think it's time for a little Belgium 101."

America completely ignored the hint of warning in her tone and pouted. "What, you mean like school? No way dude. I don't wanna."

But then she said the magic words.

"There will be ice cream."

Without hesitation, Alfred lunged forward and hugged her.

"Count me in!"

Belgium returned the hug with gusto, but France nearly choked when he saw the wink she sent his way.

He knew that, even though Belgium looked like an innocent sweet little girl, she was a nation best kept happy. For her fury could reach the level of a thousand suns if she got pumped up.

America had no clue of course.

xoxox

The nations were waiting quietly outside of the meeting room. Belgium had asked them all to stay there while her brothers, Netherland and Luxembourg, along with Switzerland and France, went in to prepare some things. They had no idea what Belgium was planning for them, but didn't want to further feed the fire of her anger by asking dumb questions.

Meanwhile, Belgium herself was going over a bit of history with her American student, while he was happily licking away at a vanilla cone.

"So Brussels is the capital of my country, not the other way around," Belgium clarified, as she showed the other some pictures on her laptop.

"There's the Atomium, the Grand Place, many musea,…"

"Dude, is that little guy taking a leak?" America suddenly exclaimed, pointing at one of the pictures.

Belgium giggled softly.

"Yes, he is. That's Manneken Pis."

"Awesome!"

"It's art. Tourists love to see it."

America looked at her quizzically.

"…Tourists wanna see some little guy pee?"

Belgium nodded stoically, although her lips did twitch.

"…Okay, I guess I would too."

"Moving on," the girl said in a chipper tone. "An important city you must at least have heard of is Ieper, or Ypres for you."

"Oh yeah, I've heard about that! But wasn't it a city in France?"

For this, America promptly got slapped in the face.

"It's not in France, you imbecile!" Belgium shouted, for the first time losing her cool. "Why do they always think I'm a part of France or the Netherlands? We're nothing alike!"

America sulkily rubbed his stinging cheek. "Sorry…"

Belgium huffed. "You'd better be! Don't ever say something like that again please. Now, about Ypres. I'm still surprised people don't know it's one of my cities. It's because of _my_ inhabitants the Great War could be ended as soon as it has! Francis should be thankful. If it weren't for the Battle of the Yser, the German troops would have reached France in record time."

America's eyes widened.

"Oh yeah, I remember that story! You guys used the river to hold back the Germans, right?"

Belgium nodded proudly. "Yes we did. We flooded the areas around the river to keep them from advancing. We played a huge role in winning the war you know!"

America took another thoughtful lick of his ice cream.

"It's weird that I know so little about you."

"Ah, he realizes it!"

America stuck out his tongue, making Belgium giggle. She was a lot less out for blood now, happy to be talking about herself.

"It's also because the Germans came to Belgium that England decided to join the fight. We had some sort of neutrality pact back then, which meant he had to come once Germany started attacking me. Ypres is also the city where England and Germany held their Christmas Truce."

"Iggy did what?!"

"They held a truce. Both Germany and England thought: you know, it's Christmas. Let's stop battling, just for today. They played some football- ah, that's soccer for you. And sang some carols and stuff."

"He never told me…"

Belgium glanced at him while he looked at the remainders of his ice cream cone. He looked so young all of a sudden, like a kid that was left out of the adults' conversation. Belgium knew how that felt, for she wasn't _that_ old either. Still, while America could act like a teenager with ADD, Belgium felt far more responsible at times. Maybe because of the wars she'd been in, maybe because she was involved in a lot of international politics. Maybe because she'd never really felt like a kid at all.

When Belgium was still a little girl, it had been only her and her brother, and together they had formed the region of the Low Countries. While America's caretaker only came to visit in his free time, not wanting his charge to be involved in too much serious business, the relationship between Belgium and the Netherlands was different.

From day one, Belgium had been involved in battles and politics, a war for culture and economy. Living in the centre of Europe, you didn't get much free time. There were problems with religion, the Plague, a constant struggle for survival and growth, … The Middle Ages were both dark and bustling with life, a moment of fake rest before the arrival of the Renaissance. And then came the invasion of Spain, among others…

Belgium had been so tiny and helpless back then, having to rely on her brother for almost everything. But his pain was hers, as they were part of the same country. It wasn't until much later, when Belgium began fighting for her independence, that her small body started growing, her own personality sprouting.

All this had happened while America was overseas, pampered by the British Empire. Or at least, that was the image Belgium had held onto for a long time. Now, she could see the similarities.

They had both fought their big brothers and caretakers for freedom. America reached his in 1776, Belgium had to wait until 1830. They had both grown an awful lot in only a small amount of time. And despite the misconceptions on his part, Belgium knew one other thing they had in common.

"Emma, we're ready," France warned.

Belgium stood up as her brothers and Switzerland marched out of the meeting room. She turned towards the other nations with a smile, pulling America from his seat.

"My fellow nations, I would like to give you a sample taste of my beloved country. Please, be my guest!"

And after that she opened the doors.

The first thing that hit them was the scent. A mixture of all things delicious and more. Only after everyone was already mouth-watering, did they get a chance to actually look at what had hit their senses in all the right ways.

Chocolate, rich of taste and smelling heavily. Dark and brown chocolate in all flavours and sizes, a chocolate fountain, chocolate mousse, big bars ready to be broken with a satisfying loud crack, cake and ice cream and bon bons and pudding.

Freshly baked fries, thick and golden brown, still sizzling with oil as they lay in coned paper bags, white dips of mayonnaise and red splats of ketchup on the side.

Strawberries, straight from the field. Big and juicy and deep red, little pictures of perfection.

Mussels from the North Sea, cooked with celery and white wine. They smelt salty like the ocean, that typical scent of seafood that made you lick your lips and long for a day at the beach.

Waffles and pancakes, sweet and topped with a thin layer of sugar.

White asparagus, chicory, grey shrimps and prawns with cocktail sauce, all sorts of cheeses, the typical 'Paling in 't groen', stews, mashed potatoes, various savoury soups, and too much to sum up really.

But most importantly: the different brands of beer. Big and small glasses, making sure there was something for everyone. Kriek, Westmalle, Trappist, Rodenbach, De Koninck, Duvel, Grimbergen, … The list was endless.

Before they all lost themselves and attacked the food, Belgium had one last thing to say.

"Welcome everyone! Or as they would say in my country: Welkom! Bienvenue! Willkommen! I would like you all to have a taste of what we call, 'De Bourgondische Levensstijl'. It's a euphemism for 'We love to take the time to relax with something nice to drink and something delicious to eat.' Good food is to be enjoyed, so without further ado: help yourselves!"

And after that day, America would never forget about Belgium again.

xoxox

**Some notes about Belgium.**

**Regardless of whether or not you guys know the country, for us Belgians it mostly feels like no one does. Or if they do, it's only the misconceptions that tend to stick. At least, that's how we experience it.**

**Belgium is not supposed to be known because the Flemings and the Walloons hate each other. There are some people who want Belgium to be split apart, but a lot of us love the country as a whole.**

**There are three 'areas', I guess you can call them. One for Dutch speakers, one for French speakers, and one for German speakers that is somehow forgotten a lot of times. The area of Brussels is both Dutch and French.**

**Yes, we do love good food and drinks. At least everybody I know does. ;)**

**Belgium did play a major role in the First World War, and should be remembered for that. If everyone ever comes to visit Ypres, there's a museum called Flanders Fields, which is an expo for the Great War.**

**We might be a small country, but we have big hearts (and some of us have big egos as well). While most know Brussels, we feel like Belgium is forgotten or overlooked. If I'm mistaken and you guys do know the country, please tell me. That's just the feeling we get. Either way, this is one of the main reasons I wrote this story.**

**And yes, Belgian chocolate is the absolute best. Paling in't groen is a dish with eel which I personally don't like, but it is one of our national dishes. And we have great beer.**

**I can't give you the full history of Belgium and the Low Lands, as that would take way too long. But there are many sites and books that talk about it, so if you want to know more: pay a visit to the library. I would be happy if you did.**

**Thanks for reading!**

Words:

Angleterre: England (French)  
Amérique: America (French)  
Welkom: Welcome (Dutch)  
Bienvenue: Welcome (French)  
Willkommen: Welcome (German)


End file.
